A master - at work and in life - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

A master - at work and in life - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog This article is about Maurice Franklin, a wood turner who is now in his 90s, having only left his lathe to fight in world war II. From the article: ?Are you happy?? I queried, provocative in my eagerness to seize this opportunity of learning something about being a nonagenarian. ?I?ll tell you why I am happy.? said Maurice, with a grin of unqualified delight and raising one hand to count off his blessings, ?I?ve got a wonderful family and wonderful children. I?ve been successful and I?ve got an appetite for life, and I?ve eaten every day and slept every night.? Maurice was on a roll now. ?I was going to write a book once,? he continued, ?but there?s no time in this life. By the time you know how to live, it?s over. This life is like a dress rehearsal, you just make it up as you go along. One life is not enough, everyone should live twice.? Read the whole thing its excellent! It reminded me of one of my favorite books, Harpo Speaks, the autobiography of Harpo Marx, another virtuoso. Heres a passage from that book: I can?t remember ever having a bad meal. I?ve eaten [] in the finest restaurants in Paris, but the absolutely most delicious food I ever ate was prepared by the most inspired chef I ever knew ? my father. My father had to be inspired, because he had so little to work with. I can?t remember ever having a poor nights sleep. I?ve slept in the mansions of the Vanderbilts and Otto H. Kahn and in the Gloverville jail. I?ve slept on pool tables, dressing-room tables, piano tops, bathhouse benches, in rag baskets and harp cases. I have known the supreme luxury of snoozing in the July sun, on the lawn, while the string of a flying kite tickled the bottom of my feet. I can?t remember ever seeing a bad show. If I?m trapped in a theatre, and a show starts disappointingly, I have a handy way to avoid seeing it. I fall asleep. This is the attitude we must cultivate in life, if we want to be happy. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related